Various types of wall covering for homes, offices, hotels and other buildings are known. Walls may be painted or may be covered with wallpaper, fabric, wood-based panels, tiles, mirrors, plastics, marble sheets, cementitious substrates and the like. The appearance, durability and cost of wall coverings are of paramount importance as is the cost and difficulty of initial installation, of maintenance and eventual replacement.
Fabrics are often used to create a "rich" look and to counteract environmental noise, especially for walls surfaced with drywall. Fabrics may be applied with glue to drywall partitions and contrasting colors, patterns and textures of fabrics and the like may be used to achieve visual effects. The initial installation of fabric on wall coverings is however relatively expensive. In consequence, the use of fabrics has generally been confined to selected locations where expense is not a primary consideration. Moreover, traditional fabric wall coverings have the additional disadvantage that they are not readily removable.
The walls of domestic basements provide additional challenges to those of skill in the wall-covering arts. Many basements have cement or concrete walls, and satisfactory attachment of wall coverings is often difficult. Further, domestic basements are often accessed through small doorways and narrow stairways and large sheets of material cannot be readily brought to the site it is desired to cover. Also, because basements are often below-ground, moisture will often penetrate basement walls, making permanently affixed wall coverings unstable and hence unsuitable. Finally, when it comes to decorating or refinishing their basements, owners of residential property often wish to "do-it-themselves."
U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,198 to Wilson ("'198") teaches panels formed from "acoustic tackable board" and covered with fabric. The '198 patent teaches that the panels have VELCRO hook-and-loop fasteners on their back and that quick-disconnect fibrous fasteners should be located substantially at the geometric center of the rear surface of each panel so as to provide additional support for the removable wall panel. Additionally, the '198 panels are intended to be removable from walls.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,412 to Bodycomb ("'412") discloses wall panels that are detachably secured to wall studs by VELCRO hook-and-loop fasteners or the like. However, because VELCRO fasteners are insufficiently rigid to stop movement of the panel relative to the stud, the '412 patent teaches that the panel should be mounted on a stud in a manner that permits little if any relative movement between the panel and the stud when the panel is in position. Patent '412 teaches that VELCRO fasteners "are not commercially satisfactory for mounting panels as they permit the panels to shift too easily thus requiring means be provided to prevent this shifting." ('412 patent, col. 3, lines 33-36).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,786 to Pacione ("'786") discloses an anchor-board construction system including wall surface elements with hooks and an attachable area finish with loops to interact with the hooks. Area finishes are disclosed in Patent '786 to be carpet tiles, wallpaper or fabric with looped backing or wood paneling. The system disclosed in Patent '786 includes provision for trims, baseboards, cornice moldings, door moldings and outlet covers.
Therefore, it will be seen that there is a long-felt need for a wall covering system suitable for use in domestic basements, that may be installed by amateur decorators, and may be just as easily removed in the event of damage requiring replacement, or be changed to match the decor of the room.